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Chapter 33 - Our Kingdom (TCOK)
(A/N: Probably the longest chapter of the book. Consider it the climax.) "I think you've made a gross miscalculation, Hareth." Tubba snarled as he leapt through the newly created hole. "What he said!" Chubba leapt out behind his brother. Together, the two of them faced Hareth. Hareth was standing many paces away, with a subdued and tied up Clubba Army to his right. Behind him were the Iglators and his allies, clearly prepared for another fight. But before Hareth could say anything, the Clubba Army, although subdued, erupted. The Iglators weaved among them, attempting to subdue their cheers, but it was to no avail. Nothing could stop them expressing their joy. "TUBBA!" "SIRE!" "CHUBBA YOU BEAUTY!" "THEY'RE ALIVE!" "TAKE IT TO HIM, TWINS!" "THANK THE STARS!" Tubba caught sight of Mud on the frontlines, hand bound, jumping in joy. Clubbar was there too, grinning proudly. His charges had become men. Clubba Army soldiers who Tubba barely recognized were roaring with delight, the SS Mahruav crewmates were exchanging friendly headbutts. They were relying on them. Hareth stood, his graying hair buffeted by the wind, completely bewildered. Shaking off his confusion, Hareth's red eyes glared at the twins. He whipped a sky-blue wand out of his similarly-shaded shell, and began to focus with intense concentration. "That's a little bit low, don't you think, Hareth?" Tubba snickered, "you have to resort to magic?" Chubba nodded. "We're two under-age teenagers and you can't beat us hand-to-hand?" Hareth snorted, his red eyes blazing. Beside him, Ludwig leapt up to his side, and began speaking to him in hushed voices. Shaking off the Heir to the Koopa Kingdom, Hareth tucked his wand into his shell again. ''This is too easy. He's got to be smarter than that, surely? He's the leader of an Empire? '' ''"''I think I can beat you two easily." Hareth shot back, bracing his fists to fight. "Let's make a deal." Tubba argued. "If we win, you're at our mercy and you let the Clubba Kingdom go free." "And if I win?" Chubba snorted. "Well that's simple! You kill us all!" The sky-blue Iglator looked like Christmas had come early and that everyone on the planet had given him a present. "You're giving me permission to annex the Clubba Kingdom if I beat two thirteen year old Clubbas? You're serious, now?" The Clubba twins didn't respond in words, except by bracing themselves for battle with their clubs. While Chubba held his club loosely, and looked quite relaxed. Tubba gripped Karubba's club as if his life depended on it, because frankly, it did. The adrenaline racing through his veins made it so that the chants of the Clubba Kingdom, supporting their King and their ex-Prince, were tuned out. It made it so that the counterchants of the Zaz Empire, attempting to subdue the Clubba Kingdom, were tuned out. The only thing he focused on was Hareth. Making every fibre of him despise every part of Hareth, from his graying hair to his gnarled claws, from the thick belly scales to the thin neck scales, to the sky blue shell and the tail scales, Tubba let out a roar of challenge. Together the two brothers raced forward meeting the Zaz King in the middle. Chubba made the first contact with a club, drilling Hareth on the heavily padded belly scales. Barely moved by the attack, Hareth lashed out at the twins, a hand at each, but both made evasive maneuvers and avoided the strike. What neither were expecting though, was as Hareth completed that attack, he balanced on his hands and kicked out wildly with his back legs, scouring his claws across both sets of scales and spilling fresh blood while sending them flying. Tubba checked himself; he was fine, the cut wasn't deep. He barely had time to register that Hareth had turned and was haring to them again. Bracing the club, he swung wildly, only to upend himself from loss of balance before Hareth even came close to him. Hareth dug his claws underneath Tubba's scales, heaving him into the air, to deliver a vicious punch. But before he could do so, Chubba leapt up behind him and slammed his club into the tail spikes on his behind. Spinning around, Hareth left Tubba flying in the air, who hit the ground, winded, Karubba's club flying off. ''I can't black out. Chubba needs me. ''Tubba fought with his darkening vision as he desperately attempted to stay awake. Chubba, who was now fighting admirably against Hareth, was clearly out of his depth. Although he wasn't losing drastically, it was clear that Hareth's movements were cool and calculated, barely expending any energy, while Chubba was going all out to keep himself defended. The bigger Iglator would wear down the Clubba King eventually. Leaping to his feet, ignoring his spinning head, Tubba searched across the stony ground for Karubba's club. The chants of the Kingdom washing over him, pouring new energy into his tired limbs, Tubba raced to Chubba's side. Distracting Hareth with a swift punch on his side scales, he somersaulted next to his brother, one hand on the ground, the other holding his club. When Hareth turned back to the brothers after wildly thrashing around for the cause of his distress, they were fighting in unison. Together, the brought their club down on Hareth's head. Together, they delivered a right hook to his jaw. Together, they kicked him backwards with their left legs. Together, they heaved the club down on his heavy belly scales, tearing them out and making Hareth spit out blood. The Zaz King was wily and strong, his muscles tough beneath his scales, and heaved both the heavy twins away from him. Spitting out blood, looking quite deranged, the Zaz King bared his teeth at them. "You fight well, but not well enough!" He roared, taking a deep breath and releasing a plume of fire. The fire increased exponentially as it left his jaw, so that when it passed the Clubba twins, who were desperately dodging, it was twice their size and twice their width. Whipping the wand from his pocket, Hareth fired a magic blast at Chubba, who was still recovering from his dodging of the fire plume. Ignoring his scorched scales, Tubba raced toward Hareth, determined to distract him from attacking his brother. With one swipe of his club, he disarmed the Zaz King, who belched a fireball in disbelief. Chubba, coming up behind Hareth after recovering, leapt up and caught the wand. Hareth belched a plume of fire in the direction of the younger twin, it was easily avoided. Chubba tossed the wand over Hareth's head, where Tubba ran and caught it in the tips of his fingers. Sidestepping a plume of fire, Tubba snapped the wand on his knee and threw the pieces back at Hareth. "No!" Hareth roared, releasing fire from his jaws, infuriated. "I can't lose to a bunch of teenagers!" Hope flaring, the two Clubba twins raced at Hareth from opposite sides. Tubba from the front, Chubba from the back. With an unspoken command, the two of them leapt as one, and drilled Hareth in the head from both sides at the same time. Chubba contacted the back of the head, where the gray mess of hair Hareth was, whereas Tubba hit from his jaw upwards. Weathering two blows at the same time, Hareth stayed in one place, his head clearly spinning. Not nearly as coordinated as when he started the fight, Hareth wildly swung with his claws, moves easily avoided. As one, Chubba and Tubba lashed out with their clubs, sending Hareth flying backwards, where he lay, eerily still. The Clubba Kingdom erupted, roaring in delight. "You won't get far!" Bowser cried, racing toward the Clubba twins. Before he could go far, Clubbar, his hands still bound, leapt into his way and made him trip. Other Iglators attempted to do the same, but they were met with a wall of ferocious, yet bound, Clubbas. Despite being in a weak position for having his hands bound, Clubbar threatened the Koopa King: "You don't go near the two twins unless you have a death wish." "Your hands are bound! Are you really going to stop us?" Bowser snarled, raising a claw. "It doesn't take much to break these." Clubbar whacked his ropes with his head, and to the utter shock of the Zaz Kingdom natives, tore his hands apart. All around him, Clubbas were freeing themselves from their apparently "strong binds." The Iglators, however, continued jostling in an attempt to get to the two. Chubba, his teal scales drenched with blood, approached the fallen King. Tubba, feeling the burns from where fire had contacted or barely missed him, limped after him. Hareth was not dead, for when they approached, his eyes were glistening with hate. Spitting out blood, the Zaz King moaned, "Chubba. You shouldn't have done this. Abandon your brother. Together, we can make a great Kingdom. We can rule the world." Tubba froze. Utter silence descended on the battlefield. Even the Iglators that were rushing to their King's aid halted. But the scariest part was that Chubba's eyes, previously lit with triumph and weary with pride, now had the unmistakeable aura of greed. "I have gold as exchange. We can conquer the world. All you have to do is spare me." Hareth pressed, clearly feeling his opening. "Chubba. Chubba, no!" Clubbar cried out, his wizened eyes betraying shock. "Come on, Chubba. Ultimate domination." "NO!" Chubba roared, lashing out with his club, driving it right into the heart of Hareth. The Zaz King, clearly not expecting such a sudden turn of events, made no move to defend himself, within seconds, he lay dead on the battlefield, his eyes gazing up at nothing. The Iglators bellowed in disbelief and made an effort to push toward the Clubba King, but the Clubbas who stopped him held firm. Clubbar put a hand on Bowser's shoulder. "Both sides have lost much. The Clubba Kingdom doesn't ask for much, except that you treat Clubbas as a true part of Zaz Kingdom society. Let's stop the fight." "It's not my decision to make." Bowser bowed his head, clearly weary to continue fighting. "However, any competent Zaz King would agree to your demands. Consider it done." Firing orders at the Iglators, they began to disperse back into the castle. Limping over to his brother, Tubba sighed. "For a moment there, I thought you were going to take him up on it." Chubba shook his head, his mouth cracking in a smile. "World domination isn't a thing I'm pursuing... yet. Besides, why would I give up our Kingdom?" "Our Kingdom. That has a nice ring, don't you think?" "It does, it does." Looking back at the army, the two Clubba twins, once so far apart, were now standing side by side. Putting their arm around the other's shoulders, they lifted their clubs to the sky and let our a wordless roar of victory, so that even the Star Spirits knew who conquered the Zaz Kingdom.